The Criminal
by Alice Zenobia
Summary: Lucy has been trapped in a government base and used as an experimental pawn for thirteen years, though she has never escaped. While she was living in the grim reality of prison, a group of Anarchists dubbed "Fairy Tail" managed to do the impossible and break Lucy out. Great. She's out, now she can start her life again with her father, right? AU/NaLu/Jerza/Experimental FF
1. Homerun

**Summary** — Lucy has been trapped in a government base and used as an experimental pawn for _thirteen years_ , though she has never escaped. While she was living in the grim, dark, gray reality of prison, a group of Anarchists dubbed "Fairy Tail" managed to do the impossible and break Lucy out. Great. She's out, now she can start her life again with her father, right? Wrong. The government's not done with her yet. AU/NaLu/Experimental FF

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The Criminal

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Chapter One

As the morning sun rises, a streak of light seeps through the bars of my out-of-reach window. It warms my shoulders and the torso of my body, causing me to shift from my blissful rest and grow conscious again. Yawning, I prop myself on my elbows, making multiple clicking sounds with my tongue to check the moisture. Unfortunately, the saliva has drained from my mouth once again, leaving my tongue with the texture of sandpaper. Judging from the sunrise, Erza will be in with my water and my morning meal in a few minutes. I'm never really accurate with the timing, but I'm always close enough to know how long to wait.

Until then, I sit up against the wall, bringing my knees to my chest. My posture is so terrible these days that my back doesn't even touch the cold, stiff steel wall. My shoulders droop over my knees, and my head lies between them.

I stray from the light my small window has to offer; I've grown hostile to the sunlight. It used to symbolize freedom to me, the freedom I've been craving for the past dozen years. The day I walk through the halls, accompanied by maybe one or two guards, walking out of the prison that has contained me for so long and let my body bathe in the warmth of the sun. That'll be the day they release me, or maybe the day I escape. Now the sunlight symbolizes false hope, and as Doctor Mochida likes to quote to me: "Hope breeds eternal misery."

I couldn't agree with him more.

 _Click,_ _ **slam!**_

Erza enters the room. The _first_ thing I notice is my food; an orange and a flavored granola bar, which would taste foul together. I scan over the tray and... Crap, no water. There's some grape juice, which would make the whole meal taste even _more_ foul. The second thing I notice is that Erza got a haircut.

Erza is an exceedingly intimidating woman. If I recall correctly, she managed to tear the dubbed "strongest" soldier in her base to shreds during their lunch, and unfortunately that's the main reason why men in the base respect her. She's intimidating to everyone, except me. That's probably because we're friends, kind of friends anyways. She's been with me for two years now. Her old, lengthy, beautiful scarlet hair was so that it passed her waist, and somehow she managed to combat with it. They added some femininity to her already intimidating person. Now she cut her hair in a rough, short bob fashion. She looks very different.

I chuckle before asking: "What the hell did you do to your hair?"

Erza took out the key to my cell and unlocked it. She smirked as she walked in, placing the breakfast tray a few feet away from me before returning to her original position and locking the cell again. "I wanted to try something new," she replied. "What do you think, Lucy? Someone of your nature would like my hair, surely."

"Hate it," I replied without hesitation, chugging down my grape juice. It was an exaggeration, of course. I actually like her new hair. I just miss her old one. "Next time grab me some water or I'll kick your—"

"Lucy," Erza scolded. "Watch it. I don't appreciate that language. Want me to send you to the gutter?"

I laugh, unwrapping my granola bar. I take small, nimble bites, being sure to chew as slowly as I can, and then my thoughts drift to Erza. Erza and I have a strange relationship, not the typical guardian-prisoner relationship. She's hostile enough; I'm hostile enough, so somehow we've been allowed by the high ranks to keep our small, internal alliance. Or friendship. Whatever you'd like to call it. Erza says the authorities want me to have someone to look forward to everyday, but I find that hard to believe.

"Sooo," I said sarcastically, "What's the schedule for today? Any appointments? Oooh, what about an experiment? Got any one of those?"

"You're scheduled nine thirty for a small experiment. It'll just last about one session, so you'll spend most of the day in your cell."

"Wonderful," I smirk, gulping down the chunk of bar I bit off. "One session? I think you guys are starting to spoil me."

x

"Insert the receptors," one scientist says to another, strapping me down to a metal reclining chair. I never know if the experiment they're testing on me is a painful one or just one where I clench my teeth and after a few minutes it's over, but I've stopped getting nervous about it a long time ago.

I remember the first time I came to the government base. I was six years old, five months till my next birthday. Strange how I remember each word, but I can't remember much detail.

 _"When will I get out?"_ I used to ask the same scientist daily, a petite lady with messy brown hair and red glasses. She was always holding a clipboard for some reason.

The scientist never looked at me in the eye. _"When we're done testing you,"_ she replied, the same exact answer I'd been given for the last thirteen years.

I also used to ask, _"How's my moma and papa?"_

 _"They're doing fine, sweetheart,"_ She'd always reply back, but reflecting on it, she wasn't exactly the most credible source of information.

 _"Can you tell me why I'm here?"_

 _"I'm afraid I can't."_

If I remember correctly, I used to be very curious as a girl. I lost my curiosity about a year after I got kidnapped. Now the only question I ask is:

"How long will this take?"

"A few hours. You won't feel anything though, and Doctor Sturly is playing some instrumental music, so you can just relax."

I sigh in relief. I've always loved music, all kinds of it in fact. They just add another dimension to my dull, monotonous life. I recline on my back and close my eyes, listening to the calming classical music as the scientists drug me and begin the experiment.

During the tests, I sometimes like to think about where I would be if the government never stole me away from my family.

I have no idea what my parents would be doing; I forgot what they did for a living. They never really talked to me about their jobs, and if they did, I probably forgot it. I don't think my moma did anything for a living, but I know whatever my papa did, he became wealthy as a result. I'm still waiting for them to come rescue me, but I'm sure that they've stopped looking a long time ago. Otherwise they would've found me already, or at least contacted me. Thirteen years isn't a joke.

There's a very good chance that all my elementary school friends have forgotten all about me too. I mean, I'd forget about me. I was the nerd who would read and write for fun during class and just disappeared one day. I was probably on the news for a while, but after over a dozen years, I'm pretty sure I've been put at the bottom of the bookshelf. I only had a small group of friends in first grade, and they'd definitely get along just fine without me.

I feel the drugs kicking in, stealing me away from consciousness. The last thing I see before I drift to slumber is one of the scientists staring at me like a kindergartener watching red and blue mix, holding a dangerously sharp instrument in his hands, his lips curling into a devious grin. That's never good.

x

 _That night._

I'm sleeping all alone in my cell when the chaos descends.

It wasn't hard to wake up. I jolted from my sleeping position, strands of hair glued to my tongue and scrambling my hands over the floor, trying to get a grip, trying to find a sense of stability. The cacophony blares from the sirens, and bright, flashing, almost blinding red lights are spiraling between the walls and the floors as if they're chasing something. The noise overpowers my ears, causing a headache similar to the ones I'd get after experiments. The contrast was that after I was experimented on, I was drugged, groggy, and in the same position for six hours. This was pure noise.

I screamed. I screamed and screamed, covering my ears as much as I could.

"AAAAAAAGGH! WHAT IS HAPPENING?" I shout at the top of my lungs, and almost as if it was their cue, a group of 15-20 security guards run up to my cell. They don't even bother pulling out keys, or a bobby pin or anything. They make space for the bulkiest guard I've ever seen in my life to walk up and kick the cell door with sheer force, about five times.

 _Clank_ ,

 _Clank_ ,

 _Clank,_

 _Clank,_

 _CREEEEEEEEEEEK_!

The door collapses inwards, making a terrifyingly loud boom as it fell down to the floor, and a swarm of guards fill up my cell.

Four of the guards grab me by my arms, and they weren't friendly about it. They lurch me up from the ground, and practically strangle the life out of my arms as they drag me out of my cell.

"What are you doing with me?" I shout, although nobody answers my question. I rush to a state of panic, squirming beneath the security guards' grips, but all that does is cause me more physical pain. They're not budging at all.

My long, uncut hair is in my face, blocking most of my vision, but then I glance at one of the security guard's faces. Though their heads are protected by helmets, their faces are protected by a thick barrier of glass. Not that thick. Thick enough so that they're protected, but thin enough so that they can still depend on their eyesight. When I see their faces, the color drains from my face. They don't look afraid, or frightened. They look… angry. Angry yet focused. But angry. Frustration?

That's when it clicks in my head. This is an invasion.

 _"Heartfilia has been retrieved and is currently being evacuated to G14!"_ one of the guards yells into a walkie-talkie. _"I repeat, Heartfilia has been retrieved and is currently being evacuated to G14!"_

 _"Roger that!"_

There was buzzing. Sounds of guns firing in the distance and battle screams and cries and chaos and the sound of several pairs of feet running down the hallway and sounds of metal meeting metal and announcements from the speakers and more chaos.

Suddenly the tight grip around my hand is released. The guard to my furthest left drops to the floor, then the next one, then the one on my right, then the one after that. It all happened so systematically and so quickly that the reaction time we all had was close to zero seconds. I gain control of myself again, planting my feet on the ground and stumbling before regaining my balance. I notice that all the security guards that were rushing me through the hallway are now all on the ground, on their stomachs, with darts engraved on their necks… except for one guard.

That one security guard is holding a dart gun, and my mouth drops. She darted every single security guard without them being able to defend themselves. And the darts went through their uniform, their armor! How?! That's impossible _,_ and _insane!_

"Move!" the guard yells at me, "Or I'll drag you myself!"

Honestly, I don't know what made me follow her instructions. I just did. It could've been that the tone of her voice was threatening, but it didn't matter. I ran with her alongside me, down the hallway, not knowing which way to go or where I was going. I was just running.

The adrenaline was pushing me forward. I've never ran like this before, and I could tell that I was awfully slow at running since the security guard passes me and grabs onto my arm to keep me at her pace. It was enough excitement just to keep up with her. I grinned like a maniac, realizing that maybe this guard is breaking me out. A surge of happiness filled my body, my heart was flying, my cocky grin inevitable. I'd be happy either ways: if I was just being evacuated to another government base, or if I was going on a homerun.

I felt like a madwoman, but I felt great.

Several other security guards pass us in the hall, but we get nothing more than a blank glance. "Go! Go! Go! Go!" a guard yells at his fellow comrades, all of them rushing past me without a second thought. The security guard with the dart gun and I pass a dead body, and I felt something come up my throat. I almost vomited at the horrendous and brutal sight.

It was a blur of grays, silvers, blues and crimsons after that. I just remember running, thinking about escape, thinking about the warmth of the sun I'd been craving so long. I was hungry for it, and I felt like a dog scratching the door restlessly, whimpering, crying desperately for someone to open the door and let me out.

"Hang on tight!" the soldier yells at me, her grip hardening. I wince like a hurt animal, my blood drawing due to her nails digging into my skin. Before I can give another thought, she shoves her palm into some kind of pedestal. Her palm sinks inside, and suddenly the ground around us gives up. We're falling into an endless abyss before I realize it.

My lungs exhaust themselves, and I continue to scream as we're free falling to the center of Earth. This was too much; I curled into a ball, covered my head with my palms and knees, and hoped for the best. Tears poured out as I tried to gather my thoughts, but in the state of panic I was in, that was impossible.

"Stop screaming, Lucy!" the soldier yells at me, slapping the back of my head.

"Keep your hands off of me!" I slap her away before my brain begins to function and I finally recognize the voice. "Wait! Holy shit, _SCARLET_?!"

"LANGUAGE!" she slaps the back of my head again. "We're almost there! Just cooperate and you'll be out of here before you know it."

The grin could not be wiped off of my face. "Erza! Are you serious?! Do you even know how happy this makes me?! I'm just... oh my God, I think I'm gonna cry!"

"Cry later, Lucy. Land on your back, hurry!"

I rotated in the air accordingly, somehow understanding her command despite being in total chaos moments before. I sucked in my breath and braced for the moment of truth.

Finally, after falling for a bit longer, I crashed into what could only be a mattress... a thick, thick mattress. As in _The Princess and the Pea_ kind of mattress.

I sunk comfortably deep into it, as if it was quicksand taking me in. My insides calmed down, realizing that, great, I'm not gonna die! I'm somewhere foreign, I'm not in the prison! _I'm free!_ Blinking, I look up and see that the opening Erza and I fell through was now shut with some chunk of iron lodged in. That wasn't there before, where did it come from?

"Yosh! Nice, Erza," someone from my corner of my eye thrust his fist in the air in triumph, though I couldn't get an eye at him because it looked like we had more running to do, judging from Erza's facial expression. I only noticed the crowd of people surrounding us after Erza stood up to confront all of them. They were all wearing the same clothes as Erza. I looked around, intrigued by the unfamiliar faces.

" _Mina!_ Great job, we gotta keep going! Did we get all of them?" Erza asked. Oh my God, my Erza is the leader of these people?

A tall and muscular man with long, spiky black hair grinned, a girl about my age slung over his back. I couldn't see her face. Was she like me? "Yep, got puny here. Hope you don't mind me having to slug her, she didn't trust me and we didn't have much time."

"Gajeel, is she alright?" was Erza's response. The black haired man nodded _,_ and then waved his free hand as if to say, _Don't worry about her._

Then he grunted, said "Now let's get the fuck out of here," and began running through a tunnel. Several others followed him.

"C'mon, it's not over yet! They'll find out about our passage soon," Erza yelled at me before running to catch up with the others. She stopped once she realized she had to wait for me.

I laughed before running up to her and grabbing her hand, so she can drag me with her. We began to speed through the tunnel, and I could feel myself getting closer and closer to freedom. I have never been more excited or determined about anything in my life, but I could only hope nothing would go wrong with Erza's plan.

* * *

"Hope breeds eternal misery." _Spencer Hastings, Pretty Little Liars_

 _Mina!_ means _Everyone!_ in Japanese. I just added the Japanese word in there because I feel happy when I picture Erza saying it to call everyone's attention.

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 **So everyone's kind of OOC, but this is an experimental fanfiction, for me to explore and venture into horrible writing. Basically my scratch paper, a story for me, a story investing in my future stories. Probably made no sense, but IDC.**

 **I hate the fact that Lucy could have been read as a damsel in distress in this chapter, but I promise she's not. I also promise she won't be as passive as she was in this chapter. She'll be exciting soon, and she'll end up interrupting the flow of this AU in the future.**

 **—- Alice**


	2. Jellal

Chapter 2

Running is a big pain in the ass.

I don't think you can understand how horrible it feels to run. Why would anyone want to run this much? To get in shape? Ha! Not worth it. My knees feel like they're going to jab out of my skin, and my muscles are stretching too much, and the burning, oh my Mavis… I really don't think this is good for me. Can't help but wonder how ridiculous I look compared to these other people.

Erza turns her head around to look at me. "I have to get to the front," she said, slowly beginning to let go of my hand, "If you need help, shout really loud, understood?"

I open my mouth to say something back, but Erza doesn't wait for a response. She lets go of my hand, making me almost stumble and fall at the sudden change in velocity. As I look back up, Erza's disappeared, practically leaving me for dead. I grouch under my breath, sucking it up before beginning a run on my own. I already know I'm running 10x slower than I was with Erza to guide me, because people are now passing me at an embarrassing rate.

"Why is she so slow?" I can hear someone mutter to my upper right. Naturally, I shoot my 'what the hell did you just say' glare at him.

"What was that, Pinky?" I growl loudly, attracting some attention.

Pinky spun around, rolling up his sleeves and skidding to a stop. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME, BLONDIE?"

I stop when I reach him, smiling playfully before rubbing his hair in. "Pinky," I respond slyly, before continuing to run ahead of him. I can't stop smiling; his face was priceless, and my teasing has never bothered Erza as much as it just did him.

"WHEN WE GET OUT OF HERE, I DEMAND A FIGHT, YOU HEAR BLONDIE?" he yells loudly, catching up to my pace easily. "I'LL BURN YOU TO A CRISP!"

"I can handle you," I snort, wanting to grab his strange scarf and taunt it against him. However, I knew that would just cause more running, and my legs were dying enough already.

The pink haired boy laughed mockingly, "You? Handle _me_? HAHAHAHAH! What a joke! You can try, but you won't with those pair of chicken legs," he remarked, gripping my hand before running at the fucking speed of light.

Mavis Vermillion.

I wasn't even keeping up with him—he was dragging me across the floor. I couldn't bring my eyes up to look at what was ahead of me! I had an astonishing feeling of déjà vu, where have I had this feeling before? Oh, right, with Erza a few damn minutes ago! "Let go of me!" I slapped his hand in attempt to free myself, to no avail.

"Heck no! They're already catching up, silly!" he answered, running even further at the sound of his own statement. My heart skips a beat when his words sink in, and the first thing I do is turn my head behind me. I gasp as I stare at the guards clothed in the familiar uniform—or armor—chase us down. They're gaining momentum, and their figures keep getting larger. Some have begun to shoot darts, though we're too far away for them to be accurate with the aim. I shiver horribly at the mere sight, and I bet that my eyes are the size of watermelons. "Yo, Erza! Heads up, we gotta move faster!"

The people ahead of me roar in determination, causing me to leap suddenly. "FOR OUR FAMILY!" they all shout in unison, all of them thrusting their fists in the air, including Pinky who's still dragging me across the floor.

There's no way in hell all of these people are related! What family are they talking about?! Ugh, more questions for Lucy!

Suddenly everyone's running faster than they were before, screaming and roaring in determination.

"Why… did you have… to be so slow… and so _heavy_?!" Pinky growls under his breath, his words soaked in annoyance and frustration.

I gasp, about to make another snapback. Instead, I flinch as I feel something engrave itself onto the back of my left arm. _No way._

"Got one!" I hear a guard behind me yell in triumph, causing me to whimper like a hurt puppy. My vision begins to blacken, the edges softening, as I feel myself exhaling for the last time as Pinky grunts and slings me over his shoulder. I fight to stay awake and know what's happening, but it's just too hard. I know better not to fight the drugs, so somehow, I end up managing to fall asleep during the most exciting day of my life.

 _x_

 _Meanwhile_

Erza skidded to a stop rather quickly. With one hand, she whipped out her walky talky and pulled it to her mouth, and with her other hand, she was ushering the rest of her squad to go running past her.

"Eden!" Erza shouted into her walky talky, the fury of a thousand lions in her tone. "Has something not foreseeable come in your way? We're being chased down by the guards because you failed your part! How come you didn't warn our squad? Are you alright? What went wrong? _Do you copy_?"

...

...

...

"Eden? Don't make me laugh, Erza, it's obvious who this girl is."

Of course. Of course he would've had to slithered his way into this. "Fernandez," Erza scowled, poisonous venom and hatred dripping off each syllable. Her alertness had soared to new heights now that she knew he was involved.

"What kind of code name is Eden? I'm assuming you didn't pick it, because it's easy to tell where Eden becomes derived from _Levy McGarden_ ," Jellal spat at her, enjoying this greatly. "Even the most naïve could figure out something so simple."

"Do not touch her. I swear to Vermillion, if you touch a hair on her OR Jet OR Droy's head, I will personally—"

"Scarlet," Jellal clicked his tongue, interrupting her rudely, "No, not so soon. After I personally interrogate them, I'll hold them as hostages for only a week, does that sound plausible to you? That should be enough time for you to come to your senses and give all of our, well, I'll say it: prisoners, back. And when you do, we can make a deal of sorts."

Erza shook her head at the thought of all of it, especially meeting that bastard face-to-face. "What's your plan for them, Jellal? What are you going to do to them?"

From the other side of the conversation, Jellal cocked an eyebrow. "Are we back on the first name basis now? Not even a honorific? Hm, I wonder: do you still foster feelings for me?"

"Tell me!"

All that responded was laughter from the other side. Strangely childish sounding, evil laughter. Not the kind you would want to hear of.

Erza's eyes widened as she choked on her own voice, "No. Do not. Don't you _dare_."

"I have a habit of getting it my way, do you see now? And I will resort to extreme measures to get what I want. I do hope you come to your senses, because not only do we have Miss Levy here, we have the rest of your squads, including the little boy," Jellal continued, delivering more and more bad news.

She clenched her teeth hard, her anger vibrating throughout every single muscle in her body. _Romeo, that idiot. How could he disobey my commands... is he the reason that the plan didn't go according to action? I was so meticulous about everything after all... dammit!_

"If you surrender right now, I might not have to interrogate any of them after all," he persuasively said. "What do you say, Erza? My guards are already there, and I'm sure you realized that we have reactivated Miss Heartfilia's tracking chip by now. You can't escape anymore, can you? Make it easy for all of us."

She _crushed_ the walky talky in her hand, silencing his voice, causing for blood to draw from her palms. Metallic pieces of the walky talky flew in the air and fell to the ground below her. _He's too stubborn. He hates to lose; he has to win,_ Erza thought, as she ran towards Natsu and Lucy. _It's gonna be a rough fight._

Erza quickly realized that Lucy had been darted, and was unconscious. A smile spread on her face. "Perfect, makes my job a lot easier," she whispered to herself.

"Natsu!" she yelled, causing Natsu to skid to a stop. He saluted his leader in the most childish way possible.

"Yes sir?" he asked, but Erza had no time to waste. When she caught up to him, she pulled Lucy away from his grasp and whipped out her rondel. "What are you—oi, ERZA!"

As quickly and smoothly as she could, she slit a cut onto Lucy's right hand. Natsu gasped as if he was the one in pain, and it took a chunk of Erza's willpower not to turn around and look at him. Lucy remained unconscious as Erza used the rondel and scooped out the tracking chip inside of her. It began to beep as it became exposed to the air, apart from Lucy's body. Blood spurred from her right hand, and although Erza could've possibly disabled her, she had no choice. She tossed the tracking chip away in a random direction and picked up Lucy, ready to hand her to Natsu bridal style, until she realized with horror that Natsu was darted.

He was sprawled against the floor, a dart engraved onto the back of his neck.

" ** _PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR_**!" a guard with a megaphone shouted angrily, and suddenly an influx of darts headed their way.

Erza slung Lucy over one shoulder, and Natsu over another, and began to run in a zig zag pattern, dodging darts the best she could. Erza, alongside with Natsu and Lucy, was the only person who had yet to escape. She was all alone.

Lucy's blood from her right hand continued to drip, leaving an easily detectable path for the guards. Erza cursed herself, doing her best to support Natsu and Lucy, though it was difficult considering she was basically carrying two people who both weighed the same as her.

She looked up, seeing the end of the tunnel, the metallic doors halfway shut. The rest of her squad was cheering her on, shouting words of encouragement, and lots of " _come on_!" hand signals came her way. The younger ones were jumping up and down, and the older ones were waving her over ferociously. Erza smiled at the spirit of Fairy Tail, as pride for the guild began to fill her up.

Unfortunately, as she was distracted, a dart hit her foot, and although it didn't puncture her skin, it caused her to trip, slip and fall. Lucy and Natsu slid their way to the doors, just on the eve of shutting. The guild screamed almost harmoniously, as Erza desperately tried to get up on her own, but another dart found its way to the back of her spine. "No!" a scream of shock and desperation found its way out of her mouth, causing the guild to scream back at her.

Elfman Strauss began to cry genuine tears, heartbroken as he ran up to the two bodies of Natsu and Lucy. As if they were rag dolls, he scooped both of them up with one arm, wishing he could reach out to Erza and scoop her up as well. It was too late though, and he knew that. She was simply too far away for him to scoop and return. She couldn't make it. Roughly, he wiped his tears with his free arm and shook his head. "BE A MAN!" he screamed at himself, turning back around, as he ran back towards the doors.

Erza looked up from her position on the ground, watching Elfman retreat with Natsu and Lucy with him. A smile found it's way to her face, quickly replaced by the realization of her failure. Footsteps quickly approached Erza, confirming that it was over.

"I can't believe this! Erza Knightwalker is a betrayer!"

"I thought you were a better warrior than this, Erza. It's a shame you ended up disloyal."

"I knew it! I knew there was something wrong with her!"

"Is she the one who is behind the invasion? You've got be bloody kidding me."

"Hurry up! She might try to pull something."

Tears began to fall from her face as the guards reached Erza, lurching her up by the arms and handcuffing her hands behind her back. _Hand...cuffs...? Are they really necessary?_ Erza thought as her eyes fluttered shut. _I'm as good as gone by now..._

* * *

A guild, by definition, has three meanings. One of them, is as followed: an association of people for mutual aid or the pursuit of a common goal.

Therefore, even in this AU, Fairy Tail is still considered a guild ;)

* * *

 **Short chapter! Gomenasai ~ ;x Just felt wrong to continue this chapter after that last scene. Sigh.**

 **—- Alice**


End file.
